Accommodation during the trip
Languages
Accommodation during the trip
Languages
Experiences you'll have
You will visit the most picturesque corners of winter Baikal and see the purest and most beautiful ice on the planet, frozen in incredible forms. Ice grottos and pressure ridges, grandiose cracks, and bubbles scatter in the ice! Do not forget your camera: you will take away hundreds of shots of amazing and always different Baikal ice.
This tour is included in the Top-30 of unforgettable journeys according to National Geographic Traveler magazine
Top 10 things that you will try in this journey:
We accept bookings for groups of 6 or more
Read about the impressions of famous bloggers who visited Baikal in winter.
Itinerary
The journey begins in Irkutsk, where you should get to on your own. We are ready to help with tickets purchasing, if necessary, please, leave a comment in the application.
Day 1 First meeting with Lake Baikal
After meeting at the airport of Irkutsk at 9 am you will immediately go to Lake Baikal. The road to Maloe More (Russian for "Small Sea") strait takes about 5 hours. Along the way you will see famous spiritual Tazheran steppes.
For lunch you will try traditional Buryat cuisine: real buuzy, buchler and Buryats tea.
In the afternoon you will arrive to Baikal. The first breathtaking adventure awaits you — a ride on the lake ice aboard all-terrain vehicle TRECOL (which means “TRansport ECOLogical”). The vessel is absolutely safe and is able to move on water, ground and ice. Also, it is ecological and officially allowed to be used in the region. In addition to its driving characteristics, this transport looks very impressive, and the photos on its background are amazing.
Today you will be accommodated in comfortable double rooms of the base located on the shore of Maloe More strait, one of the famous straits of Lake Baikal.
In the evening you will have dinner and rest. You can walk on the ice on foot or go ice-skating.
Day 2 Ogoy island and grottoes of Maloe More Strait
After breakfast you will go to the Ogoy Island to see the famous Buddhist stupa of Enlightenment. On the way you will have stops in the most interesting places for exploring ice grottoes and splashes, incredible caves with ice stalactites.
For lunch you will have picnic right on the ice of Lake Baikal. Today’s menu is a hot smoked fish, saguday and tincture on cedar nuts. Also, you will taste a local delicacy — "raskolotka" made from Baikal fish (cooking class included).
After lunch you will enjoy lots of ice entertainment: ice caves exploring, ice golf, a local anti-stress activity, and dedication to "ice travelers"! Besides, our guides will show you what “Baikal kiss” means.
Late in the afternoon you will return to the base and have dinner.
Day 3 Along the Tazherany steppes
After breakfast you will leave the Maloe More strait for Aya Bay. The way goes along the sacral Tazherany steppes. You will stop at the Shebety mount near Ust Anga settlement to enjoy fascinating view to Lake Baikal and the Primorskiy mountain ridge.
On the way you will have open-air lunch and taste the venison dumplings.
In the evening you will arrive to the Aya Bay. You will stay at a cozy hotel with views to Lake Baikal and have dinner.
Day 4 Travel along the western Baikal coast by hovercraft
After breakfast you will see the pure ice of the Baikal again. This day, you will have a hovercraft ride from the Aya Bay to the Listvyanka settlement.
You will see famous and amazing places of the lake — the Arch Cape, the hard-to-reach Peschanaya Bay, the Screeper Cliff and the Devil's Bridge. The places are famous for their pristine ice and ice bubbles, so you can make great photos there.
In the evening you will arrive to Listvyanka, stay at a hotel and have dinner (paid additionally).
Day 5 Ice entertainments
After breakfast you will visit the "Cherskiy rock" observation platform. A chairlift will bring you up the hill with a great view of Lake Baikal and the Angara River.
Then you will get acquainted with all the inhabitants of Lake Baikal in huge aquariums of the Baikal Museum.
After the museum ecxursion there will be meeting with Siberian riding dogs. Emotions from communication with animals will be an excellent addition to the program of the day.
After lunch in the restaurant (paid additionally), you will go to the Angara River outflow to get a ride on a real ice floe. This is the absolutely safe activity. The thickness of the Lake Baikal’s ice is 1 meter in February and March. The ice is able to carry even a truck. However in one place you can find open water on the Baikal surface — in the source of the Angara River. A 60-150 sq. meters ice floe will be cut out of the frozen lake by a saw. All the participants embark the "ship" and go rafting. There is also a hovercraft as a tugboat. It is also used to transport all the participants to the starting point of the activity when the rafting ends. The whole activity takes from 1 to 1.5 hours.
After the adventures you will enjoy a real Siberian banya with fir branches besom and swimming in the ice hole. After the sauna you will return to the hotel and have dinner (paid additionally).
Day 6 Departure to Moscow
After breakfast you will get transfer to the airport.
Accommodation during the trip
Languages
Accommodation during the trip
The first two nights of the trip you will spend at "Khadarta" recreation base, located on the same-name cape of the Maloe More Strait. You will stay in a comfortable cottage in double/twin rooms with a private bathroom (on the 2nd floor) or a common bathroom for 2 rooms (on the 1st floor). The rooms have one double or two single beds, a wardrobe, bedside tables, a desk, a flat-screen TV, a mini-refrigerator, an electric kettle, and a set of dishes for tea and coffee.
For one night you will stay in the new "Aya Bay" hotel, located in one of the most picturesque bays of lake Baikal near the Maloe More Strait. You will be accommodated in double guest houses with a cozy terrace. Your room will have one double bed (and, if necessary, an extra bed), a work area, a mini-bar, a flat-screen TV, a mini-safe, free Wi-Fi and a bathroom with a shower. On the territory of the hotel there are a cafe, a bar, a bathhouse , a barbecue area, an outdoor heated pool, a children's playground, a shooting range.
The final two nights will be spent at "Nikola" hotel in Listvyanka village. You will live in standard double rooms with two single or one double bed. All rooms have a private bathroom with a shower and a hairdryer, free Wi-Fi and a flat-screen TV.
Common questions
You will be accompanied by experienced English-speaking guides.
The program price includes three meals a day on days 1-3, as well as breakfast at the hotels on days 4-6 and lunch on the route on day 4. Additionally, you will need to pay for breakfast on the first day, for lunch on day 5 and for dinner during your stay in Listvyanka (days 4-5).
If you are a vegetarian or have any particular preferences, please let us know in advance so we can adapt the menu.
You can participate in the tour with children from 8 years old. We give a 10% discount to children under 12 years of age.
Important travel documents:
Сlothing and shoes, personal equipment:
You need a tourist visa to travel to Russia. It can be issued for a maximum period of 30 days. Your passport has to be valid for at least six months after the expiry date of your visa and to have at least two blank pages.
This tour is organized in March when the weather on the lake is usually fair. However, it may happen that the temperature falls under 4°F (20°C), that a strong wind starts to blow or that the fog suddenly descends over the lake.
You will have a stable connection during your stay in the village of Listvyanka. Mobile communication is unstable during trips on the Maloe More Strait and in the Tazherany steppes, as well as on the territory of "Khadarta" recreation base. While travelling along the western coast of Lake Baikal by a hovervraft on day 4, there will be no communication.
Transfer from Irkutsk airport to Lake Baikal will be carried out on comfortable minibuses. On routes along the Maloe More Strait and the Tazherany steppes an all-terrain vehicle with low-pressure tires "TRECOL" (which means “TRansport ECOLogical”). The vessel is absolutely safe and is able to move on water, ground and ice. Also, it is ecological and officially allowed to be used in the region.
From Aya Bay to Listvyanka village you will move on the ice of lake Baikal by a hovercraft "Khivus".
Booking
Accommodation during the trip
Languages
accommodation as per itinerary
meals as per itinerary
transport as per itinerary, including transfer from/to airport or railway station
rent of TREСOL all-terrain vehicle and a hovercraft
English-speaking guide's services
excursion to Baikal Museum and to the “Cherskiy rock” observation platform
ice floe rafting
meeting with Siberian sled dogs, skates rental (for 3 days)
visiting Russian banya (3 hours)
letter of invitation, administrative registration
airfare to/from Irkutsk (starting at 175 EURO for a round-trip ticket)
single accommodation (+220 EURO per person)
meals, that not included at the program
medical insurance
visa fees and travel insurance
optional excursions and activities
personal expenses and tips
accommodation as per itinerary
meals as per itinerary
transport as per itinerary, including transfer from/to airport or railway station
rent of TREСOL all-terrain vehicle and a hovercraft
English-speaking guide's services
excursion to Baikal Museum and to the “Cherskiy rock” observation platform
ice floe rafting
meeting with Siberian sled dogs, skates rental (for 3 days)
visiting Russian banya (3 hours)
letter of invitation, administrative registration
airfare to/from Irkutsk (starting at 175 EURO for a round-trip ticket)
single accommodation (+220 EURO per person)
meals, that not included at the program
medical insurance
visa fees and travel insurance
optional excursions and activities
personal expenses and tips
Testimonials
The guide is super! She really took care of us really well during the stay. We are 100% sartisfied with all arrangements - Meals, accomodations, transfers and sightseeing etc.